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Iraqi and US troops push in northern town Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-09-10-iraq_x.htmhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-09-10-iraq_x.htm
Iraqi, U.S. troops start push to retake northern town
TAL AFAR, Iraq (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi troops swept into the insurgent stronghold of Tal Afar early Saturday, conducting house-to-house searches and battering down walls with armored vehicles in a bid to flush out militants.
In the capital, Baghdad International Airport — the country's only reliable and relatively safe link to the outside world — reopened a day after a British security company suspended operations there over a payment dispute with the government.
London-based Global Strategies Group said it had agreed to return to work after the government promised to pay 50% of what the company said it was owed.
The Tal Afar offensive, expected for weeks, began with coalition forces facing several hundred lightly armed insurgents in the largely deserted city, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad and about 60 miles east of the Syrian border.
There was heavy gunfire in the Sarai district — the oldest part of the city and the major insurgent headquarters.
"I can see why the terrorists chose this place for a fight, it's like a big funnel of death," Sgt. William Haslett of Rocklin, Calif., said of the twisting streets and alleys in the old city.
Prime Minister Ibarahim al-Jaafari issued a statement announcing the start of the all-out offensive.
"At 2 a.m. today, acting on my orders, Iraqi forces commenced an operation to remove all remaining terrorist elements from the city of Tal Afar. These forces are operating with support from the Multinational Force," it said.
U.S. forces cleared the city of militants last year but quickly withdrew, leaving behind a force of 500 that was unable to stop fighters from returning.
To soften resistance, the U.S. military had carried out repeated air and artillery strikes against Tal Afar ahead of the latest assault. Most of the population of 200,000 reportedly fled to the surrounding countryside.
The U.S. military reported killing 11 insurgents during raids over the past two days. The Iraqi military claimed it had arrested 150 foreign fighters who had slipped into the country from Syria.
"The terrorist elements being targeted by this operation are guilty of blatant crimes against its people," al-Jaafari's statement said. "They want to deny the citizens of Tal Afar their future in a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We want to guarantee those rights. These operations are being conducted precisely for that purpose."
Tal Afar's residents are largely Turkmen with ethnic and cultural ties to Turkey to the north. They are mostly Sunni Muslims but had been governed since the ouster of Saddam Hussein by a U.S.-backed Shiite Muslim city government and police force.
In Baghdad, acting Transportation Minister Esmat Amer told The Associated Press that the city's main airport — once known as Saddam International — had reopened after late-night negotiations between the government and London-based Global Strategies Group.
"We have reached agreement with the Global security firm, and the airport is open now for domestic and international flights," Amer said, refusing to elaborate. In a separate statement, Global said it had resumed normal operations.
The company has provided security at the airport 12 miles from central Baghdad since last year. On Friday, Global suspended operations, claiming the transportation ministry was six months behind in payments.
Under a deal negotiated with the defunct U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, Global was paid $4.5 million a month for airport security. The interim Iraqi government sought unsuccessfully to reduce that charge after it took over from the CPA last year.
The Interior Ministry sent troops Friday to reopen the dusty, stone-and-marble facility but called them back after U.S. forces met them at a checkpoint.
The closure of the French-built airport was believed to have been the first serious public conflict involving a Western contractor since the U.S.-led invasion more than two years ago.
The United States has managed to keep its forces in Iraq — now at about 140,000 — to a minimum by hiring contractors for vast amounts of work the military normally would do. Congress has complained that oversight is lax and the U.S. government is routinely overcharged.
Also in Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded next to a police convoy south of the capital. Five people were killed — two paramilitary policemen and three civilians in a nearby vehicle.
Iraq police said two mortar shells were fired into the Green Zone that houses the U.S. Embassy, the Iraqi parliament and government offices. There was no word on casualties.
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Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
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